The death count from a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that rocked Mexico Tuesday rose to 226 early Wednesday morning, according to the Associated Press.
The earthquake struck 76 miles southeast of Mexico City, toppling dozens of building and sending residents pouring into the streets of the nation’s capital. Many immediately began digging through the rubble of collapsed buildings, trying to save those trapped inside, the Wall Street Journal reports.
AP reported that half of the 226 deaths came from Mexico City and the surrounding area. Mexico City’s loss of life was recently updated to 216. It’s unclear whether the latest numbers reflect that increase in the area of the capital, CNN reports.
One fallen building in Mexico City was a primary school. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto personally visited the site, saying 20 children and two adults were killed. 30 students and eight adults are still missing, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“It was horrible,” a student at another school in Mexico City told WSJ about the moment her school felt the earthquake. “Everyone was trying to get out the door at the same time. We were terrified.”
The earthquake hit just hours after the city commemorated a 1985 quake that killed 10,000 in the country. The new disaster also comes just 12 days after a magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck the country, setting a record for Mexico’s strongest earthquake.
“This is too much. It’s like we’re cursed or something,” a resident told WSJ.
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